College Football

FSU Football's Top Players of 2016 Season: No. 4

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:37 p.m. ET

Fansided, Jason Parker/FanSided via Chop Chat

We rank the FSU football players who were the best of the best during the entire 2016 football season for the Seminoles the whole time.

Since the 2016 season kicked off for the Florida State Seminoles over four months ago, there have been moments and players that shaped what took place this season for FSU football. From two classic wins in South Florida and a game to remember in the commonwealth of Kentucky to record breaking performances by upperclassmen and true freshman alike, it has been a year to remember in Tallahassee.

While the season didn’t end as many thought it would before it began, 2016 had successful moments – thanks to some of the most talented players in all of college football. But which ones were the best this season for the ‘Noles? Who were the players that shined above the rest in 2016?

Here’s a look at another one of the top 15 players on the Seminoles’ roster this past season.

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No. 4 – Derrick Nnadi / Defensive Tackle (Jr. – Virginia Beach, VA)

Stats: 49 tackles (10.5 for loss), six sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery

There would likely be very little argument that in 2016, the defensive line was the strong point of that side of the ball for the Florida State Seminoles. While much of the attention was paid to names like Walker, Sweat and Burns, it might have actually been the play of the big man in the middle that solidified the whole unit.

After a relatively quiet first month of the season, Nnadi came up strong in the month of October – including seven tackles and a sack in the win over Miami and eight tackles with a sack in the loss to Clemson. He would add another sack against N.C. State along with a sack and forced fumble in the regular season finale against Florida. He finished the season with five tackles and half a sack against Michigan in the Orange Bowl win.

Perhaps the best stat Nnadi had in 2016 came on the final day of the year, when shortly after the Orange Bowl win he announced that he would come back for a senior season in 2017. That move by Nnadi will add more strength to a defense that may be one of the best in college football next season.